Role of Personalized Medicine in Clinical Practice: An Overview of Current and Future Perspectives

Drug administration at similar doses in patients can often lead to various clinical responses. It has been hypothesized that genetics primarily accounts for variation in drug efficacy and toxicity in individuals. Personalized medicine has been a breakthrough achieved by the Human Genome Project which contributes to enhancing quality-based patient care. It deals with the customization of medication considering the distinct genetic and proteomic data that underpins the originality of every patient and every instance of therapeutic intervention. Many cases have shown that inter-individual differences related to drug response can be traced to genetic polymorphism in the gene alleles that codes for metabolizing enzymes, drug transporters, and genetic variations in a person’s Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). So, the paper throws an insight into epidemiological variations due to genetics, variations in response based on metabolic parameters, and transporters. It also covers genetic variation related to immune-related drug toxicities. Pharmacogenetic testing plays an important role in achieving more precise personalized therapeutics for better public health. The paper discusses various tests for human leukocyte antigen variants and metabolic variants. Every technology inclusion comes with advantages and limitations so personalized medicine also faces certain challenges which are discussed in the paper. Once personalized medicine is used in clinical settings, patients will be able to receive the best medications for them based on their unique genetic and protein profiles.